Julia’s House – Care for the child, there for the family

19 June 2017

Julia’s House is an award-winning children’s hospice charity dedicated to bringing comfort and care to families across Dorset and Wiltshire.

When a family finds out that their child has a very serious medical condition, which is life-limiting or life-threatening, their world falls apart. Julia’s House exists to help these children and their families.

Julia’s house provides practical and emotional support, tailoring care to the needs of each individual child and their family, providing frequent and regular support in their own homes, in the community or at our hospices.

Julia’s House has just opened the first children’s hospice in Wiltshire. Work to convert the former council offices in Devizes into a beautiful new children’s hospice took a year. It has a large central activity room, sensory and therapy rooms and three bedrooms for occasional weekend and overnight stays. The garden has a wheelchair-friendly trampoline and a nest swing.

The hospice incorporates many high-tech features including interactive projection systems that allow play via vision, sound and movement, enabling children to play and have fun regardless of their physical limitations.

Joseph’s mum, Liz said: “Joseph has been so excited. It is fantastic to see him so happy. It is so good to have a place where he can come and feel safe and we can feel relaxed.”

The hospice will now undergo a formal inspection and go through a 10-week long commissioning process to gain Care Quality Commission approval before welcoming the first families in July.

Julia’s House, which already has a hospice in Dorset, has been supporting Wiltshire families with life-limited children for three years via its home-based community care.

The new hospice will give families the chance to choose where they receive their respite sessions as well as offering access to top class facilities, specialist end of life care and social opportunities.